The Forest Legacy Program is designed to protect environmentally important forest land threatened with conversion to non-forest uses.
Donor Name: California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE)
State: California
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 04/16/2024
Size of the Grant: More than $1 million
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
Protection of California’s forests through this program ensures they continue to provide such benefits as sustainable timber production, wildlife habitat, recreation opportunities, watershed protection and open space. Intact forests also contribute significantly to the storage and sequestration of carbon.
Under this competitive grant program, CAL FIRE purchases or accepts donations of conservation easements or fee title of productive forest lands to encourage their long-term conservation. The primary tool CAL FIRE uses to conserve forest lands in perpetuity is permanent Working Forest Conservation Easements (WFCEs). WFCEs do more than just restrict development and conversion on a property, WFCEs protect forest values by concentrating on sustainable forest practices that provide economic value from the land and encourage long-term land stewardship.
Priority is given to lands that can be effectively protected and managed and that have important scenic, recreational, timber, riparian, fish and wildlife, threatened and endangered species, and other cultural and environmental values. CAL FIRE regularly partners with other funding agencies to select high value landscapes for conservation easement projects.
All projects are evaluated on four main characteristics:
- Importance – Does the land provide important economic, habitat, watershed, water supply, recreational, scenic, historical/cultural benefits?
- Strategic Value – How does the property relate strategically to other properties adjacent or in close proximity to it?
- Threat – How is the property threatened by development or conversion to other uses?
- Readiness – To what degree has due diligence been completed?
Funding Information
Up to $10 million in funding for Forest Legacy Grants to conserve and protect environmentally important privately-owned forestland is available.
Allowable Costs
Project costs covered by the Forest Legacy Program grants include purchase of interests in lands, appraisals, land surveys, closing costs, establishing baseline information, title work, purchase of title insurance, conservation easement drafting and other real estate transaction expenses. Also included are funds expended to facilitate donations of land or interests in lands to a qualified and willing entity for Program purposes.
Eligibility Criteria
These can include, but are not limited to, nonprofits, land trusts, and conservation organizations. Funding may be provided to these entities to either purchase or hold conservation easements or fee title to property. This program will not grant funding to a private person, business, or other private entity to hold ownership of these interests (fee title or CE) using State funds. Any applicant not eligible to hold a Conservation Easement shall specify the intended Conservation Easement organization within the application.
For more information, visit CAL FIRE.
